[sumtechguy]

My wife was dumping 50-100 a month into a gym. I said "I will buy you whatever equipment you are using there and if it breaks you can go back". That was 15 years ago and the stuff is still in good shape and used daily.

Renting makes sense if you can not afford it at all or only will use it for a small period of time. If you are going to use something long term you are usually better off buying that thing.

Also try to buy used equip. Many times people realize they did not really want to do it at all but made an excellent coat hanger. Usually it is in very good condition and you can save a decent amount of cash.

[asdff]

I think also there is this idea that it's the machine or the equipment you need, but all you need is the movement and resistance. When the pandemic hit I bought resistance bands instead of expensive free weights. $60 later I'm squatting, deadlifting, overhead pressing, curling, bench pressing, shoulder pressing, calf raising, lat raising, doing everything really with a rubber band instead of a hunk of metal, doing the same movements and getting the same pump for half the price of a monthly gym membership around here.

[sumtechguy]

I agree. For me it was mostly just to stop her renting the machine. I personally just use simple stuff you learn in PE and some isometrics. Using bands would be a nice augment to that.

You do not need a lot of money to exercise. You can get in cheap. Mostly it is about setting up a routine and doing that. Basically 'procrastination is the thief of time' and 'by repetition I get things done'.